


Like Something out of a B-Movie

by bazaroff, dyadinbloom, ekayla, Somewhere_overthe_Reylo



Series: Pink Ladies L3 Write Nights [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Hufflefluff, I'm supposed to share the chocolates?, Rey's hungry for more than a pretzel, Round Robin, emotional support hufflepuffs, everything else is in here, how much cheese can we fit?, inferno takeover, so why not emojis, the authors do not apologize, we like to leave each other on cliffhangers, we're going to hel, welcome to l3 write nights, when personal pep talks become dialog, where the everything's made up and the plot doesn't matter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:09:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25966393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bazaroff/pseuds/bazaroff, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyadinbloom/pseuds/dyadinbloom, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ekayla/pseuds/ekayla, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somewhere_overthe_Reylo/pseuds/Somewhere_overthe_Reylo
Summary: Ben and Rey had grown up inseparable, following each other from childhood through adolescence. Now that they’ve reached college, what will happen when they finally admit their feelings for one another?
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Pink Ladies L3 Write Nights [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885675
Comments: 14
Kudos: 55
Collections: Pink Ladies L3 Write Nights - Round Robin





	Like Something out of a B-Movie

**Author's Note:**

> The co-authors of this fic took turns in 15 minute sprints, each with a new drabble from our favorite bot, to see what our collective brains could come up with while incorporating L3’s words. We each went twice in Round Robin format, picking up where the last author left off. 
> 
> This is likely the first of many L3 Write Nights. In the end notes you will find which quotes we were meant to include. 
> 
> Enjoy ❤ or don’t; we’ll be back regardless.
> 
> Much Love, Your Co-Authors
> 
> (Author Order: dyadinbloom, ekayla, bazaroff, Somewhere_overtheReylo)

They had been friends for years. Rey and Ben: two peas in a pod. They’d practically grown up together. Rey’s mother had worked for Ben’s family, cleaning their house, and she had to bring Rey over all the time. But Rey didn’t mind because that meant she got to see him. When they were younger, Ben would show her all his toys and let Rey pick out any that she wanted to play with. He didn’t mind because it meant he finally had someone to play with him, instead of being alone. They’d play together in the treehouse for hours, while their mothers worked. They bonded over their favorite Pokemon and their loneliness. Two peas in a pod: Ben and Rey. 

As they grew older, things began to change. What once was childish love slowly became something deeper. Neither one knew who felt it first, but also neither acknowledging anything. Rey began to help her mother with the cleaning, especially when the sickness came, until one day it was only Rey, left all alone. 

“You’re not alone,” Ben had said, dressed all in black and trying to comfort her through her sobs. 

She peered up, and on impulse she kissed him. Ben froze, in shock at what was happening. Suddenly, she pulled back, embarrassed and flushing with pink. “Sorry, this should never have happened. We were unimportant, you and I. We weren't supposed to mean anything to anyone.”

“Rey…” Ben called out, but she had turned and started walking away. He ran to catch up with her. 

He reached out and grabbed her forearm and she spun back toward him. Tears brimmed her red eyes. His heart broke a little because he knew those tears were the ones he caused, not the ones for grieving her mother.

“Rey. Look at me and listen, please.” He clasped both her tiny hands in his, tenderly and delicately, like he was holding a wounded bird.

“We might be unimportant to everyone else, but _you_ are important to _me._ I don’t know how to describe it, it’s like I’m in the dark and you are the light. Or, like I’m a rat in one of those mazes, trying to get out, only you are the one who gives me the way out. I don’t get mad when you are around. I don’t yell and throw things when you’re with me. You… you just have this effect on me, a calming effect. No one understands me like you do. You're not alone, Rey. Not now, and not ever. I can promise you that.”

Rey was sobbing now. She couldn’t find words, which was probably good since they would come out a garbled mess in the state she was in. She stepped toward Ben and embraced him, holding onto him like she was clinging to a life raft. 

~~~

The days faded into months, and the months into years. Middle school to high school and eventually university. Neither willing to be separated from the other longer than they had to. 

There was a brief period after her mother’s funeral where she was placed in a foster home in a different school district. Rey had only lasted until lunch before she broke out and made her way back to third period with Ben, much to the confusion of their teacher, Ms. Erso.

Mrs. Organa Solo had told her social worker that she was struggling with separation anxiety, and they helped get her placed in a home back in her old school district. Ben had kept his promise, she wasn’t alone.

Now here she sat in the Uni library studying for her advanced mathematical theories course, trying to comprehend what the hell a “Braid” theory was. She let out a groan and let her face fall into the pages, missing the sound of steps coming up to her table.

“You know, you should stay just like that; it’s priceless.” The voice let out a chuckle. “You are a book waiting to happen.”

She lifted her head, page sticking to her face as she took in the tree of a person that was her best friend. 

“Har, har,” she deadpanned. “Do you use that pickup line on all the ladies?” He gave her a smirk before pulling the chair out across from her, swinging one leg over to straddle it. He crossed his arms along the back before leaning to rest his chin there. “C’mon, Reybe, you know you’re my only lady.”

She felt her cheeks heat in a blush. They hadn’t kissed again since the day of her mother’s funeral, sure that by this point he just viewed her as his kid sister. She’d watched the string of girls he had had under his arm over the years.

Rey placed her elbow on the table, cheek in hand. “Don’t put ideas like that in my head Solo; one of these days I'll take you seriously.” She gave him a teasing smile.

His smile grew larger. “I’m counting on it, sweetheart.”

~~~

‘Spring semester’ was kind of a misnomer, Rey mused, trekking through the snow as she trudged home from her last class of the day. February had brought gales of snow to campus, and she loved the end of each week when she could go home, prop her sodden boots up by the fire, and barricade herself inside her tiny apartment for the whole weekend.

She was content to be alone when she wasn’t in class, but Rey welcomed the knock she heard at her door this Friday evening, knowing it could only be her best friend.

She opened the door to a slightly disgruntled Ben; his jeans were wet, his hair mussed from the cap he’d worn to keep his ears from freezing off, and he was shivering just a little, despite being a hulk of a man.

“Let me get some of that fire,” he demanded, striding over the threshold and kicking off his boots, hanging his hat and coat by the door as he always did. She followed him to the couch, where they both held their hands toward the fire to warm them. Rey took the opportunity to study her friend; his hair had grown long this year, and she loved how it curled around the collar of his red plaid shirt. He reminded her of a woodsman, or a gruff mountain man of some sort. Either way, he was dearer to her than anyone else she’d ever known.

“What do you want to watch tonight?” he asked, leaning back and resting his feet on the coffee table, grabbing the remote to surf through their streaming options.

“Want to rewatch one of our favorite series, or do we want to watch a movie?” Rey asked, mimicking his posture as she reclined on the couch.

“Oh, spare me from all of these Valentine’s films,” Ben said, pretending to gag. Rey rolled her eyes; she was definitely the more ‘anti romance’ of the two of them.

“What’s wrong with Valentine’s?” she asked innocently. “Is this an American thing, hating a holiday you invented?”

Ben rolled his eyes. “No, not all Americans hate Valentine’s...at least I don’t think they do.”

Rey smirked. “What’s wrong, Ben? Never had a Valentine?”

He threw a pillow at her without even taking his eyes off the TV, and she laughed.

“Well, if you don’t like Valentine’s day, I guess I won’t give you your present,” Rey teased. 

Ben looked at her, quirking a brow. “But Valentine’s isn’t until next week,” he protested. 

Rey giggled, hopping up and darting to the kitchen before returning with a giant red box, shaped like a heart. It had been the most obnoxious Valentine she could find. She presented it to Ben with a flourish, and he cradled it in his hands, his expression at once bemused and bewildered. He opened the box, revealing a partially devoured collection of assorted chocolates.

Rey grinned as her absurd gift had the desired effect: Ben laughed, and she was rewarded with the sight of his sweet dimples and endearingly imperfect teeth. He looked at her, still smiling.

“Well, I might be the first person in the history of Valentine’s Day to receive a half box of chocolates a week early.” He let out another soft chuckle, “But since it’s from you, I offer my most sincere thanks.”

Rey shrugged, plucking a chocolate almond out of the box and popping it into her mouth casually. “I wanted to get you chocolates on a day other than Valentine's so you'd know it was out of love, not obligation. I ate them already and I love you.” She laughed. “Well, not all of them, but I think it still counts as love and not obligation.”

Suddenly, she realized his eyes were intense, and the laughter had faded from his face. “Do you mean that, Rey?”

She shifted uncomfortably on the couch. “What do you mean...that you’re not an obligation? Of course I do.”

“No, Rey,” he said patiently. “You know what I meant.”

Rey gulped. She’d admitted to herself long ago that she’d never love any man but Ben. She’d tried to tell him so many times, but it had been _years_ , and they’d never as much as hinted at what had happened on the night of her mother’s funeral.

“Ben, I…” she swallowed. Now was as good a time as any to tell him the truth.

Just then, Rey felt her phone vibrate. She let out the breath she was holding, breaking eye contact with Ben to check and see who it might be. 

|| Rose Tico

_1 new message_

She shoved her phone back in her pocket. Whatever her friend had to say, it could wait. She’d waited much too long for this moment with Ben, which she hoped she hadn’t let slip away. 

“Ben, I _do_ love you. I always have.” 

A wave of confusion mixed with relief flooded over his face. He lifted a corner of his mouth. “Really? You do?” 

A burst of boldness surged through her. She leaned in, her lips crashing onto his. It was the second time they’d kissed, but this time he kissed her back. His hands lifted to her face, one on her cheek and the other buried itself in her hair. He broke away for a moment, just long enough to say, “Ah, you do.” All of her uncertainty melted away as he kissed her again. 

~~~

A couple hours and one unwatched movie later, Ben excused himself to the bathroom. Rey whipped her phone out of her pocket, typing to Rose as quickly as she could.

|| _I did it. I kissed him! I KISSED BEN AND HE KISSED ME BACK._

Seconds later, Rose’s reply came back. 

|| _Omg…._ ❤️❤️😍😍💜 _Wowww.._ 😀😄 _m literally melted in your words!!!_

She heard the water from the sink as Ben finished up, and she put her phone away. He came back to the couch and propped his feet up again, and she pretended like she wasn’t just texting about him. 

“So, should we pick a movie? Or should we just keep making out?” he teased. 

“Well, part of me wants to watch something terrible, but another part of me thinks we have so much lost time to make up for.” She pulled him in and pressed her soft lips against his. 

“We have all the time in the world, Rey.” He smiled into the kiss. 

“I’ll just put something on for background noise.” She smiled sheepishly at him, taking in his swollen, kiss-bruised lips and taking pride that she had done that. She grabbed the remote and just turned to a channel, anything for white noise, and settled into Ben’s lap, looping her arms around his neck, and her hand running through his black waves.

~~~

She woke up warm, so warm, and it took her a minute to realize why. Ben was nestled behind her with his back against the cushions. He was the big spoon she had been missing in her life. Their bodies fit together perfectly on her sectional. She looked back on his face, bathed in the white light of the TV, looking so peaceful. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

“Hey, sweetheart. Are you comfy? I can get up so you can go to bed?”

“Ben don’t you dare go anywhere! Except my bed. Maybe we would be more comfortable there.” She could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. _Slow down Rey._ It was hard to slow down when the fire that burned inside her for so long had finally been fed and stoked and was raging.

Ben twisted to sit up and Rey moved forward to grab the remote to turn the TV off.

“Wait!” Ben stopped Rey. “This is my favorite movie! I haven’t seen it in forever!”

It was some old black and white B-movie that only played on the depths of late night cable. Rey had never seen it.

“This is the best part! I can’t believe we woke up just in time to catch this! You have to watch this.”

He pulled her back into his lap just as the masked hero said to the maiden he had in a passionate embrace, “There's the whole damned current of life flowing through you, through us, through everyone around, the flowers and the birds and the sun streaming in and the fragrance of it. A Force if you will. I feel what runs through me, also runs through you.” 

With a heady sigh, the maiden lustily collapses in the hero’s embrace and they kiss.

“ _That’s_ your favorite part?”

“I am a bit of a romantic at heart, Rey. You can’t tell me you never noticed.”

“Okay, Romeo,” she places a kiss at his temple, “time for bed.”

“Fine, but I am making you watch this full movie another time.”

She tipped up to swing her legs off the couch, making to stand, before turning to look at him with a shy smile. “It’s a date.”

Once on her feet she held out a hand to help him up. Lacing his fingers through her own, he allowed himself to be pulled toward her room.

“Rey, are you sure? I can just go home.”

She gave him a small scowl. “I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure. C’mon,” She gave his hand a small tug, continuing their path through her bedroom door.

Mustering up the courage, she turned to her dresser to pull out an oversized t-shirt as Ben made his way to her bed, perching on the edge. Lifting her top over her head, she swapped it for the new garment. As she began to remove her pants as well, Rey heard a strangled noise come from behind her. 

She peeked over her shoulder to find him staring at what was sure to be her ass cheeks dipping below the hem, and her face heated once again. 

“Sorry,” she let out in a whisper. 

His gaze snapped up to her eyes, and she saw his entire face turn red. “Rey?”

“Mhm?” Rey flinched when the sound came out higher pitch than necessary.

“I don’t have pajamas--” He averted his gaze. “Is it okay if I--um--” She heard him clear his throat lightly. “Sleep in my boxers?”

Her breath hitched.

“No--” her voice cracked as she said it, and tried again. “No, Ben, I don’t mind.”

He stripped down quickly before practically burying himself in her bed. Rey turned the lights off before creeping to the other side, climbing in as she kept her back to him.

“Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“I really do love you.”

“I know, Rey.”

She felt the bed shift as his weight seemed to settle just behind her. She pushed herself backwards to meet him once again like they had on the couch. She felt his fingers as they began to trace shapes on her hip, playing with the lacy trim of her briefs.

“Rey--”

She didn’t let him say anything else as she quickly flipped over, crashing her lips to his again, and swinging a leg over his hip, forced herself as close as she could. She felt him groan and push his hands up the shirt and along her back, holding her once again like the lifeline they’d always been to each other.

She began to move her hands toward his hips, when the sound of her front door slamming open startled them apart.

“Rey? Where are you, you beautiful bitch! They have pretzels downstairs!” Rose screamed from the living room.

Rey had jumped so far out of her skin that she tumbled to the floor, falling off the bed with a loud _thump_.

“Rey!” Ben asked hoarsely. “Are you okay?”

“Rey? Was that you?” Rose called, her footsteps coming closer.

“ROSE!” Rey yelled. “I’m fine, it’s fine, everything is fine,” she gasped, trying to crawl back under the covers, having a hard time as Ben was shaking with laughter as well as being absolutely massive in general.

“Do you want pretzels, Rey!?”

“NO, ROSE, I AM ALL SET ON PRETZELS,” she yelled, trying to inject some meaning into her voice.

There was silence.

“Reyyyy,” Rose singsonged. “Do you already have a pretzel in there?”

Ben burst out laughing, and Rey shot him a disapproving look.

“You DO have a pretzel! Okay, fill me in in the morning! BYE!” Rose left with a slam of the door, and Rey exhaled in relief.

Ben was still chuckling, and Rey whacked him in the shoulder. 

“Rey, do you want a pretzel?” he mocked.

“Shut it, you goof,” she said, but she smiled as he wrapped his long arms around her body and pulled her closer to him.

“I could make you pretzels, you know,” Ben teased. “My cooking is so good, it's been called seductive. Should I show you what I can do?”

Rey pushed his shoulder, rolling him onto his back. “Yeah, you can show me what you can do. But the cooking has to wait until tomorrow.”

He grinned up at her, proud to be one of the very few things in the world that Rey preferred over food.

Although, now that he considered, she was looking a little...hungry. He grazed his thumbs over the lacy edges of her boyshorts, skimming his fingertips up her sides, tickling her ribs under her loose sleep shirt.

Without a word, she swept it off, and he caught his breath as he finally got to see all of Rey.

She was beautiful. She had to know it. Had to know it, just like she had to know how he felt about her.

“Rey?” he asked.

“Yes?” She said, leaning down to cage him beneath her body, arms on either side of his head.

“I love you too, you know.”

The smile she bestowed upon him then was perfect--better than the best soft pretzels, better than his favorite B-movie, better than the life-altering box of chocolates she’d given him earlier.

He yanked her down to him, and they didn’t waste any more time. They’d waited a lifetime; now it was their turn to have a lifetime _together_.

Ben just hoped that next year, he’d get first dibs on the Valentine chocolates.

**Author's Note:**

> L3 Sprint Love Qoutes:
> 
> “Sorry, this should never have happened. We were unimportant, you and I. We weren't supposed to mean anything to anyone.”
> 
> “I’m a rat in one of those mazes, trying to get out, only you are the one who gives me the way out.”  
> “You are a book waiting to happen.”
> 
> “I wanted to get you chocolates on a day other than Valentine's so you'd know it was out of love, not obligation. I ate them already and I love you.” 
> 
> “Omg….❤️❤️😍😍💜Wowww..😀😄m literally melted in your words!!!”
> 
> “There's the whole damned current of life flowing through you, through us, through everyone around, the flowers and the birds and the sun streaming in and the fragrance of it.”
> 
> “They have pretzels downstairs!”
> 
> “My cooking is so good, it's been called seductive. Should I show you what I can do?”


End file.
